Container cap liner



June 22, 1954 L. c. MILLER 2,681,742

CONTAINER CAP LINER Filed July 16, 1949 Patented June 22 1954 2,681,742 CONTAINER our LINER C. Miller, Chicago, Ill.-,assignor to Formold Plastics, -Inc., Chicago, Ill.,. a,eorporation of Illinois Applicants Juli: it, 1949; Stem. 105,107 3 Claims. (01.215

'1 This improved liner is composed of a-soft plastic of a kind that. is resistant to acids, alkalies, oils and most common substances that areput up in bottles orjars or other types of containers.

It ismade with an oversize, thin, rim around ,the edge that folds upwardly when the liner is ;inserted in the tap'and keeps the liner from falling out.

u 1 Such liner has a thick section over the lip of the bottle, which portion compresses when the cap is screwe'd'onto thebottle and makes atight seal w Toin crease the resiliency of the liner .theback side of the liner at the thick poi nt has a groove cut out in it to make thelinen-more flexible.

That groove can either be annular or it could be segmented, or it can be any-kind of undercut gin the; back ,to accomplish the same purpose;

such liner is preferably made thin in the center to save material.-

The effect produced bythe groove in the back could be. :obtained..by .making.s:the grooverdeeper than in the one illustrated, or more than one groove could be provided.

The novel invention constituting the improvement in liners for bottle caps and similar or analogous devices is illustrated in the several views of the drawing forming part of this specification and, for simplicity, like reference characters throughout such views have been used for the same elements.

In such drawing:

Figure 1 shows the top part of a bottle fitted with one of the new and advantageous forms of bottle cap;

Figure 2 presents a view of the threaded neck portion of the bottle with its internally threaded cap removed, the cap shown as being in part broken away;

Figure 3 illustrates a vertical section through the cap, on an enlarged scale on line 3-3 of Figure 2, before the cap is applied to the bottleneck;

Figure 4 pictures the internally screw-threaded bottle cap including its plastic liner applied to the externally threaded bottle-neck, and conforms to an enlarged cross-section on line 4-4 of Figure Figure 5 presents a top face view of the cap liner separate from the cap and of smaller size;

Figure 6 shows fragmentarily a segmentally grooved type of cap liner;

Figure 7 is a section through the liner of Fig- Figure 8 is a cross-section similar to Figure '7 .through another form of multiple parallel grooved liner.

One of the main objects of the invention is to beable properly and adequately to seal the mouth of the bottle so that its contents cannot leak out, become spilled, or evaporate, the end surface of the-bottle-neck being so completely and thoroughly-sealed by the new type of liner in the cap and bearing on such surface of thebottle that the-desired result is readily and easily attained.

It is, of course, not new to line a bottle or similar screw-threaded cap for application or mounting on the threaded neck of a bottle or analogous container, but I have discovered that substantial improvements can be incorporated in such cap liners materially to improve their sealing characteristics.

Accordingly, the internally screw-threaded cap l6 (Figs. 3 and 4) may be made of any suitable relatively hard material provided 'it'be adequately supplied internally at the top of its interior with a suitable lining sealing medium.

This new liner, characterized as a whole I I, ordinarily round in shape, consists of a flexible, relative soft, plastic, such as polyethylene or its equivalent, and is slightly larger in diameter than the cavity in the cap in which it is fitted. Such element I! is round and of less thickness than the marginal portion, the top surface of the disc around such margin having a substantial upstanding rib I8 with a central annular groove [9, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, in its top surface.

This liner is of soft plastic of a kind that is resistant to acids, alkalies and oils, and most common substances that are put up in bottles, jars or the like.

It is made with an oversize thin rim 2| around the edge that folds upwardly when the liner is inserted in the cap and keeps the liner from falling out.

This liner has a thick annular section located over the lip of the bottle, such section compressing when the cap is screwed onto the bottle and makes a tight seal to increase the resiliency of the liner. The upper or back side thereof, at the thick point, has a groove cut in it to make the liner more resilient.

That groove can either be annular as explained above, or it could be segmented, as illustrated at I IS in Fig. 6, or it can be any kind of undercut in the back to accomplish the same purpose, or it can be in the form of a plurality of parallel grooves 259, as shown in section, for example, in Figure 8, the liner being preferably made relatively thin in the center to save or conserve material. The favorable result produced by the effect occasioned by the groove l9 when the cap is screwed on the bottle-neck is indicated by the difference in the cross-section of the liner in Figures 3 and 4. The groove can be made deeper than that shown, or a plurality of parallel grooves, instead of one, could be availed of.

When the cap is applied to the bottle-neck, the grooved feature which permits the elevated portions to deform, is in register with the end of the bottle-neck, as indicated in Figure 4, so that a very effective sealing action is obtained over the mouth of the bottle, as indicated in the drawings.

Those acquainted with this art will readily understand that the invention is not necessarily confined and restricted to the precise and exact details herein set forth,- and that reasonable modifications may be resorted to without departure from the heart and essence of the invention and without the loss or sacrifice of any of its material benefits and advantages.-

1 claim: 1

1. A resilient plastic liner for bottle caps comprising a substantially circular normally relatively flat, imperforate, resilient and deformable disc-like body portion, a resilient and deformable annular ribsurrounding said body portion and extending upwardly out of the plane of said body portion, the upper face of said'rib having an annular groove, and anoutwardly extending rim formed on the circumference of said rib and extending completely therearound, the thickness of said rim beingless than the thickness of said rib, and the undersurfacesof said body portion, said rib and said rim normally lying substantially in a single plane.

2. A plastic liner for bottle caps as described in claim 1 further characterized in that the annular groove in the rib is interrupted at two or more-places.

3. A closure for containers comprising a cap and a liner for the cap, said cap including a top and a depending flange surrounding said top and disposed substantially perpendicularly thereto, thread means formed on the inner walls of said flange and extending inwardly therefrom, said liner being formed of resilient plastic material and comprising a substantiallycircular normally relatively fiat, imperforate; resilient'and deformable disc-like body portion, a resilient and de- 1 formable annular rib surrounding said body portion and extending upwardly out of the plane of said body portion and into contact with the top of said cap, the upper face of said rib having an annular groove and an outwardly extending rim formed on the circumference of said rib and extendingcompletely therearound and outwardly into contact with said depending flange, the thickness of said rim being less than the thickness of said rib, and the undersurfaces of said body portion, said rib and said rim normally lying substantially in a single plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 612,394 Bernardi Oct. 18, 1898 785,116 Perry Mar. 21,1905

1,448,094 Sorgan Mar. 13, 1923 1,937,492 Merolle Nov; 28,- 1933 2,078,132 Ferguson Apr. 20, 1937 2,117,807 Jesser May 17, 1938 2,130,746 Scofield Sept. 20,-1938 2,130,749 Von Till Sept. 20, 1938 2,238,681 Dorough Apr. 15, 1941 2,327,455 Punte Aug. 24, 1943 2,383,570 Sellew Aug. 28, 1945 2,396,491 1 Chamberlain Mar. 12, 1946 2,439,923 Clark Apr: 20,1948

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date France Aug. 8,1925 

